Pilots can learn a lot from reviewing accident reports. The idea is to understand the mistakes that led up to a particular accident so as not to repeat them. Yet, several types of preventable accidents occur over and over. One of these is Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) in IMC conditions. According to the NTSB, October 2012 was a bad month with three fatal helicopter CFIT accidents in poor weather.

On October 5, 2012, about 0758 central daylight time, a Bell407 helicopter was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain shortly after takeoff from CentralIndustriesAirport(2LA0), near Intracoastal City, Louisiana. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, was fatally injured. Day instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the post-maintenance flight. One witness reported that she saw the helicopter depart on the runway heading and disappear into fog or a low cloud ceiling. Several witnesses reported hearing a sound consistent with a ground impact shortly after the helicopter had departed toward the southwest.

The closest weather observing station was located at the Abbeville Chris Crusta Memorial Airport (KIYA), about 13.6 miles north-northeast of the departure airstrip. At 0755, the KIYA automated surface observing system reported the following weather conditions: calm wind, visibility 1/4 mile with fog, overcast ceiling 200 feet, temperature 20 degrees Celsius, dew point 20 degrees Celsius, and altimeter setting 30.14 inches of mercury.

OnOctober 9, 2012, about 2000 eastern daylight time, aBell407, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain inCoolbaugh Township,Pennsylvania. The airline transport pilot and one passenger were fatally injured, and one passenger was seriously injured.

According to a limousine driver who was supposed to pick up one of the passengers at HPN, at 1938 he received a text from the passenger stating that they were running late. Then at 1953, he received another text instructing him to go back to MMU to pick up the passenger. After arriving at MMU, the driver waited but the helicopter never arrived.

A search by Federal, State, and Local authorities was initiated. On October 10, 2012 at approximately 0230 the helicopter was discovered in a heavily wooded area approximately 1.3 miles northwest of Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport (MPO), Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania. The recorded weather at MPO, at 2003, included: wind 100 degrees at 6 knots, visibility 1 1/4 miles, light rain, mist, overcast ceiling of 200 feet, temperature 09 degrees C, dew point 09 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 30.10 inches of mercury.

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane multi-engine land, with commercial privileges for airplane single-engine land, and rotorcraft-helicopter. His most recent application for an FAA first-class medical certificate was dated June 1, 2012. On that date, he reported 19,000 hours of flight time.

On October 17, 2012, about 0640 eastern daylight time, an Aerospatiale AS 355 F2, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain shortly after takeoff from Brigham Heliport (4PN5), Erwinna, Pennsylvania. The certificated airline transport pilot was fatally injured. Dark night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. Several witnesses reported hearing the helicopter as it over flew the residential neighborhood about the time of the accident, and one witness observed two lights that she presumed to be the accident helicopter as they descended into trees behind her home. Each of the witnesses described the lighting conditions at the time of the accident as dark, and reported that visibility in the immediate area was restricted due to fog.

No pilot takes off thinking that it’s highly likely they will have an accident. In these kinds of accidents most pilots know it is not ideal conditions, but probably believe it is manageable. However, what is missing is the realization that an unpleasant condition can quickly escalate into an unrecoverable and fatal situation. These kinds of accidents are worth thinking about every time you are faced with a decision regarding continued VFR flight in IMC.

This entry was posted
on Tuesday, January 1st, 2013 at 11:19 am and is filed under Uncategorized.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.